City cheers immigrant-worker program expansion

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This article was published 08/03/2024 (647 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A federal immigration pilot project Brandon has been participating in since 2019 will be expanded and made permanent, a move local representatives are calling a positive step.

Speaking in Sudbury, Ont., on Wednesday, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced that the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) is launching two new programs.

The first, the Rural Community Immigration Pilot, will help immigrants find a path to permanent residency by filling job vacancies in smaller communities. The second is a program aimed specifically at bringing French-speaking newcomers to Francophone communities outside of Quebec.

“Rural and northern communities face unique economic and demographic challenges. However, through the RNIP, rural communities have been able to attract and retain skilled workers that they’ve needed for years to ensure their economic growth,” Miller said in a media release.

“That is why we will make RNIP a permanent program, and why we are introducing these two new pilot programs. We’ll continue to work closely with these communities, as we work to connect businesses with the skilled workers they need to thrive.”

Brandon is one of 11 communities across Canada that has taken part in RNIP, and just one of two in Manitoba.

A spokesperson from Miller’s office told the Sun by email that all communities, even those already participating in the existing program, will be able to apply for the two new programs.

Eligibility and application details are to be released later this year, but a community will only be able to join one of the two new programs.

“(Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) is committed to working toward a permanent rural immigration program based on the lessons learned from RNIP, as well as these two new immigration pilot programs,” the spokesperson said.

“The Rural Community Immigration Pilot and the Francophone Community Immigration Pilot are the next steps towards establishing permanent programs.”

Speaking to the Sun at his office at city hall on Thursday, Brandon’s director of economic development, Gerald Cathcart, said that since Brandon joined the pilot program in 2019, it has made 340 recommendations for workers to be brought to the Wheat City.

Accounting for the families that arrived with those workers, the program has brought more than 600 people to Brandon. Each participating community is provided with 170 allocations through the program each year, though the government has the option of topping those numbers up.

“There’s no end to data that says that workforce is a very limiting factor for almost all employers,” Cathcart said. “What’s really excellent about this program is employers are bringing their job descriptions to us and they’re bringing candidates that they’d like to bring into those positions to us.”

The original pilot project was supposed to expire on Feb. 29, which Cathcart said worried the city because it has been so successful at bringing skilled workers to Brandon who otherwise might not have immigrated here.

It has since been extended to August, and city officials are pleased that the government is looking at making it permanent.

Part of the reason the program is appealing to municipalities is that it reduces the red tape needed to bring these workers in. For participating workers, RNIP provides them with an easier path to permanent residency.

When assessing viable candidates for the program, Cathcart said Brandon looks at their language proficiency, knowledge of the area and connections to the area.

Brandon is still waiting for details on how the new pilot programs will work, but Cathcart said the city will be making an application to the rural stream.

For the current program, Cathcart said Brandon will be taking new applications until June 15. Thursday is drop-in day for applicants and multiple people dropped by the office to discuss the program while Cathcart was being interviewed.

“I think the wholesome benefit of immigration to Brandon has been really, really good,” he said. “We see that in the diversity of our streets, the diversity in our businesses. The entrepreneurial nature of many newcomers is driving a lot of investment trickling down.”

In a Wednesday phone interview, Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said he would be happy to see the program made permanent.

“We understood there would not be an extension because this was a five-year pilot,” Fawcett said. “You either do something new with it, or implement it as a permanent program … and so it’s good to see that they’ve seen value in this. We’ve seen value in this. Hopefully, we’ll be a partner community again.”

In an email, Westman Immigrant Services CEO Enver Naidoo said Canada’s aging population and low birthrates mean that “immigration growth is key to address labour market shortages, stabilize the tax base that funds critical infrastructure and services and enrich the social fabric of our society.”

He said the program has been beneficial to rural communities who need to attract skilled labour and that because it values community connections, it has also served as a way to help reunite families.

“Overall, from our perspective, the RNIP program has been very successful in selecting candidates who are excited to make Brandon home.”

Given the appropriate resources, Naidoo said the new pilot could be a valuable tool to help grow Brandon.

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